Belowground community responses to fire: meta‐analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna

Pressler, Yamina; Moore, John C.; Cotrufo, M. Francesca

doi:10.1111/oik.05738

Cited by 328Fire effects on ecosystemsSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsMycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Belowground community responses to fire: meta‐analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna

Pressler, Yamina, Moore, John C., Cotrufo, M. Francesca·2019·Oikos

DOI 10.1111/oik.05738

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Global fire regimes are shifting due to climate and land use changes. Understanding the responses of belowground communities to fire is key to predicting changes in the ecosystem processes they regulate. We conducted a comprehensive meta‐analysis of 1634 observations from 131 empirical studies to investigate the effect of fire on soil microorganisms and mesofauna. Fire had a strong negative effect on soil biota biomass, abundance, richness, evenness, and diversity. Fire reduced microorganism biomass and abundance by up to 96%. Bacteria were more resistant to fire than fungi. Fire reduced nematode abundance by 88% but had no significant effect on soil arthropods. Fire reduced richness, evenness and diversity of soil microorganisms and mesofauna by up to 99%. We found little evidence of temporal trends towards recovery within 10 years post‐disturbance suggesting little resilience of the soil community to fire. Interactions between biome, fire type, and depth explained few of these negative trends. Future research at the intersection of fire ecology and soil biology should aim to integrate soil community structure with the ecosystem processes they mediate under changing global fire regimes.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/oik.05738

Cites

9 of 9 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis
Schneider, C. A., Rasband, W. S., & Eliceiri, K. W. (2012) · Nature Methods · doi:10.1038/nmeth.2089 · Cited by 64,638
Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package
Viechtbauer, W. (2010) · Journal of Statistical Software · doi:10.18637/jss.v036.i03 · Cited by 20,464
Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest wildfire activity.
Westerling, A. L., Hidalgo, H. G., Cayan, D. R., & Swetnam, T. W. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1128834 · Cited by 5,176 · cited 1×
“…on land use (Marlon et al. 2008) and environmental conditions conducive to fire such as increased lightning strikes (Romps et al., 2014), increased net primary productivity (NPP; Nemani et al. 2003), longer fire seasons (Westerling et al. 2006) and a warmer and drier atmosphere (IPCC 2014).”
Background
The meta-analysis of response ratios in experimental ecology
Hedges, L. V., Gurevitch, J., & Curtis, P. S. (1999) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[1150:tmaorr]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 4,704
How Many Studies Do You Need?: A Primer on Statistical Power for Meta-Analysis
Valentine, J. C., Pigott, T. D., & Rothstein, H. R. (2010) · Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics · doi:10.3102/1076998609346961 · Cited by 1,294
Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
(2013) · doi:10.1515/9781400846184 · Cited by 1,183
Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millennia
Marlon, J. R., Bartlein, P. J., Carcaillet, C., Gavin, D. G., Harrison, S. P., Higuera, P. E., Joos, F., Power, M. J., & Prentice, I. C. (2008) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/ngeo313 · Cited by 823
Fire frequency drives decadal changes in soil carbon and nitrogen and ecosystem productivity
Pellegrini, A. F. A., Ahlström, A., Hobbie, S. E., Reich, P. B., Nieradzik, L. P., Staver, A. C., Scharenbroch, B. C., Jumpponen, A., Anderegg, W. R. L., Randerson, J. T., et al. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature24668 · Cited by 552
Global decomposition experiment shows soil animal impacts on decomposition are climate‐dependent
WALL, D. H., BRADFORD, M. A., ST. JOHN, M. G., TROFYMOW, J. A., BEHAN‐PELLETIER, V., BIGNELL, D. E., DANGERFIELD, J. M., PARTON, W. J., RUSEK, J., VOIGT, W., et al. (2008) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01672.x · Cited by 542

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 191

10.1111/j.1574-6941.1996.tb00302.x · DOI
10.6090/jarq.43.137 · DOI
10.1590/S0103-84782014000400002 · DOI
10.1073/pnas.0801925105 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.07.011 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.01.015 · DOI
10.1016/0038-0717(94)00140-V · DOI
10.1007/s00374-010-0532-2 · DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.013 · DOI
Bardgett R. D., 2010, Aboveground–belowground linkages: biotic interactions, ecosystem processes and global change
10.2111/05-190R1.1 · DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.09.011 · DOI
10.1016/j.catena.2014.07.011 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.03.009 · DOI
10.1007/s00374-016-1133-5 · DOI
10.1590/01000683rbcs20140426 · DOI
10.1007/BF00203532 · DOI
10.1016/j.pedobi.2006.12.001 · DOI
10.1071/WF03023 · DOI
10.1016/j.pedobi.2011.03.002 · DOI
10.1146/annurev-earth-060614-105038 · DOI
10.1134/S1064229314030028 · DOI
10.1016/j.tree.2005.04.025 · DOI · Paper page
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.02011.x · DOI
10.1111/1574-6941.12181 · DOI
10.1071/WF9970317 · DOI
10.1016/S0929-1393(98)00066-3 · DOI
10.1007/s13225-014-0294-5 · DOI
10.1139/X07-241 · DOI
10.1016/j.actao.2006.01.003 · DOI
Celik I., 2011, Impacts of different tillage practices on some soil microbiological properties and crop yield under semi‐arid Mediterranean conditions, Int. J. Plant Production, 5, 237
10.2478/s11687-009-0024-9 · DOI
10.1007/s00442-004-1788-8 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/S0254-6299(15)30135-6 · DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0067884 · DOI
10.1002/2016GB005467 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2016.07.030 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.03.008 · DOI
10.1007/s13595-011-0114-y · DOI
10.1007/s10661-012-2927-z · DOI
10.1071/WF05032 · DOI
10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00230-5 · DOI
10.1007/s11104-010-0541-9 · DOI
10.1590/S1517-83822014000300032 · DOI
10.1002/ecy.1513 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.06.024 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2009.06.033 · DOI
10.1111/j.1469-8137.1993.tb04533.x · DOI
10.1007/BF00337742 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.04.005 · DOI
10.1007/s10533-011-9654-3 · DOI
10.1007/s10533-011-9633-8 · DOI · Paper page
10.4996/fireecology.130237746 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/j.pedobi.2003.03.001 · DOI
10.1016/S0038-0717(96)00160-5 · DOI
10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/j.pedobi.2010.04.003 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.12.020 · DOI
10.2136/sssaj2006.0292 · DOI
10.1071/WF08187 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/j.foreco.2012.10.022 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.01.037 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.07.008 · DOI
10.1007/BF00418673 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.10.023 · DOI
10.1023/A:1004390202057 · DOI
10.2307/3807844 · DOI
Gongalsky K. B., 2006, Forest fires as a factor of formation of soil animal communities, Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii, 67, 127
10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.07.005 · DOI
10.1134/S1028334X16120035 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2012.03.017 · DOI
10.1134/S1064229316030042 · DOI
10.1016/j.envint.2004.02.003 · DOI
Grabczynska O., 2009, Short‐term effects of prescribed forest fire on soil mites (acari), Pol. J. Ecol., 57, 805
10.1016/j.foreco.2006.06.031 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2005.03.015 · DOI
10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.31.1.425 · DOI
10.1007/s11676-015-0125-x · DOI
10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00158-9 · DOI
10.2136/sssaj1997.03615995006100010041x · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.01.018 · DOI
10.1007/s10021-016-9975-0 · DOI
10.2111/07-047.1 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2005.08.012 · DOI
10.1023/A:1020287726382 · DOI
10.1016/j.baae.2004.09.002 · DOI
10.1007/s10021-005-0077-7 · DOI
10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.05.032 · DOI
10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245 · DOI · Paper page
Holling C. S., 2002, Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems, Island Press.
10.1016/j.ejsobi.2011.10.004 · DOI
10.1007/BF00260580 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.11.008 · DOI
10.1007/s004420000627 · DOI
Jiang R., 2012, The seasonal dynamics of soil microbial biomass of a Larix gmelinii forest after wildfire, Afr. J. Microbiol. Res., 6, 2329
10.1029/2005GL022822 · DOI
10.1029/2012GL051790 · DOI
10.1007/BF00341344 · DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01699.x · DOI
10.1046/j.1365-294x.1999.00553.x · DOI
10.1016/j.ecolind.2009.01.002 · DOI
10.1016/j.tree.2010.09.001 · DOI
Keen Y. C. et al., 2011, Soil organic matter and related soil properties in forest, grassland and cultivated land use types, Int. J. Phys. Sci., 6, 7410
10.1016/j.foreco.2010.05.037 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.11.005 · DOI
Kim O. S. et al., 2004, Monitoring of bacterial community in a coniferous forest soil after a wildfire, J. Microbiol., 42, 278
10.1007/s10533-007-9104-4 · DOI
10.1890/13-0526.1 · DOI
10.1071/WF14217_CO · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2011.12.003 · DOI
10.1021/es00003a746 · DOI
10.1007/s00374-007-0198-6 · DOI
10.1016/j.geoderma.2010.05.004 · DOI
10.1007/s00248-015-0639-y · DOI
10.1016/j.catena.2014.08.007 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2013.12.027 · DOI
10.1016/0038-0717(92)90256-W · DOI
10.1007/s10310-005-0201-8 · DOI
10.1139/x00-158 · DOI
10.1016/j.pedobi.2008.01.001 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2012.02.007 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2010.04.001 · DOI
10.1139/X08-094 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.06.002 · DOI
10.1111/j.1600-0587.2000.tb00294.x · DOI
10.3846/16486897.2012.663087 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2006.01.006 · DOI
10.1016/j.funeco.2013.02.005 · DOI
10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.08.002 · DOI · Paper page
McSorley R., 1993, Short‐term effect of fire on the nematode community in a pine forest, Pedobiologia, 37, 39, 10.1016/S0031-4056(24)00084-2 · DOI
10.1016/0167-8809(88)90062-X · DOI
10.1146/annurev.en.33.010188.002223 · DOI
10.1590/S0103-90162006000400009 · DOI
10.1890/ES11-00345.1 · DOI · Paper page
10.1007/s10342-013-0738-6 · DOI
Nasim G., 2011, Crop straw burning practice‐a threat to arbuscular mycorrhizal biodiversity, Pakistan J. Bot., 43, 2961
10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00032-8 · DOI · Paper page
10.1126/science.1082750 · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2015.02.020 · DOI
10.3390/f7020045 · DOI
10.1051/agro:2003061 · DOI
Pen‐Mouratov S., 2012, Forest fire modifies soil free‐living nematode communities in the biriya woodland of northern Israel, Zool. Studies, 51, 1018
10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.07.024 · DOI
Pressler Y., 2018, Data from: Belowground community responses to fire: meta‐analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna
10.1007/s003740050411 · DOI
10.1080/01448765.1999.9755239 · DOI
10.1007/s005720050183 · DOI
Rau B. M. et al., 2008, Microsite and time since prescribed fire's influence on soil microbiology in a pinyon woodland, USDA For. Serv. Proc., 52, 175
10.1139/b04-123 · DOI
10.1071/WF14138 · DOI
10.1023/A:1010364221169 · DOI
10.1126/science.1259100 · DOI · Paper page
10.1016/j.agee.2009.08.012 · DOI
10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.10.006 · DOI
Rutigliano F. A. et al., 2002, Soil microbial community as influenced by experimental fires of different intensities, Fire and biological processes, 137
10.1007/s00374-007-0214-x · DOI
10.1016/j.ejsobi.2013.02.006 · DOI
10.1016/j.agee.2016.10.009 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.04.033 · DOI
10.1146/annurev.en.29.010184.000325 · DOI
10.3389/fmicb.2012.00417 · DOI
10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.01.001 · DOI
Shaw P. J. A., 1997, Post‐fire successions of Collembola in lowland heaths in south‐eastern UK, Pedobiologia, 41, 80, 10.1016/S0031-4056(24)02978-0 · DOI
10.1038/srep19639 · DOI
10.1128/AEM.01355-07 · DOI
Song H. G. et al., 2004, Monitoring of soil bacterial community and some inoculated bacteria after prescribed fire in microcosm, J. Microbiol., 42, 285
10.1111/gcb.12832 · DOI
10.1007/s002489900042 · DOI
10.1017/S0953756299008618 · DOI
10.1525/california/9780520246058.003.0004 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.05.007 · DOI
10.1038/srep32411 · DOI
10.1007/s11284-011-0827-2 · DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.01.014 · DOI
10.1111/j.1574-6968.1989.tb03690.x · DOI
10.1890/03-5133 · DOI
10.1139/x04-037 · DOI
10.1016/0038-0717(91)90048-O · DOI
10.1016/j.foreco.2007.08.016 · DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01661.x · DOI
10.2307/1313536 · DOI
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199575923.001.0001 · DOI
10.1002/ldr.2367 · DOI
10.1016/j.still.2010.02.008 · DOI
10.1126/science.1094875 · DOI
10.1139/x94-196 · DOI
10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.03.021 · DOI
10.1007/s11104-015-2633-z · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.01.007 · DOI
10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.10.012 · DOI
10.2136/sssaj2012.0220 · DOI

Sorted by citations

Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers
McLauchlan, K. K., Higuera, P. E., Miesel, J., Rogers, B. M., Schweitzer, J., Shuman, J. K., Tepley, A. J., Varner, J. M., Veblen, T. T., Adalsteinsson, S. A., et al. (2020) · Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13403 · Cited by 729
“Responses of microbial biomass and diversity can persist for a decade or more, depending on the ecosystem, fire severity and organic horizon loss (Dooley & Treseder, 2012; Pressler, Moore, & Cotrufo, 2018).”

Authors: Pressler, Y., Moore, J. C., & Cotrufo, M. F.
Affiliations: Colorado State University (US)
Corresponding author: Pressler, Yamina
ORCID: Pressler, Yamina
Moore, John C.
Cotrufo, M. Francesca
Venue: Oikos
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2018-10-16
Volume: 128
Issue: 3
Pages: 309-327
ISSN: 0030-1299 (ISSN-L)
1600-0706
DOI: 10.1111/oik.05738
OpenAlex: W2892799109
Cited by: 328
References: 9
Citations by year: 2026: 50 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 18
FWCI: 10.68
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Oikos (publishedVersion)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
Keywords: fire effects on soil, soil microbes, soil mesofauna, soil bacteria, soil fungi, nematodes, soil arthropods, post-fire recovery, fire regimes, fire types

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Belowground community responses to fire: meta‐analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Self-check

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Metadata

Record

About these checks